The View from East Point #Landscape #landscapePhotography

Bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis) crown illuminated by the rising sun.

Reddening Michigan holly (Ilex verticillata) fruits are a sign of the arrival of autumn. 🌿

We are currently enjoying some fabulous early autumn weather in southern Michigan. Here is a recent morning view of Great Meadow (named after that immortalized by Dirk Bogarde in his childhood reminiscence). #Landscape #landscapePhotography

Autumn is a good season for canopy shots. While the forest floor might still be shady, high above colors are glowing. The large trees are black cherry (Prunus serotina). The orange and reddish leaves are Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus inserta). 🌿 #fallcolor #forest #canopy #liana

The View from East Point It might seem that the reddening red maples (Acer rubrum) are a sign of autumn, but they have been that way at least since July. Red maples seem to be naturally inclined towards redness. 🌿 #Landscape #landscapePhotography

I was at Hummelwald Forest recently, again taking shelter from the rain the rain, when I noticed unusual activity in a nearby puffball forest.  It turns out that falling drops of rain were striking the puffballs and causing spores to eject. Very cool. 🍄📷  🍄 #FungiFriends  #Mushrooms 🌿

A promising morning at Hummelwald Forest. But it is possible that torrential rain fell later in the day. I kind of lost track of the rain last week. #Landscape #landscapePhotography

A lot of rain fell at Hummelwald Forest last week. This image shows an unsettled sky over Great Meadow in between periods of torrential rain. Great Meadow was named after that immortalized by Dirk Bogarde in his childhood memoir of the same name. #Landscape #landscapePhotography

Mixed nuts, collected at Hummelwald Forest, to be used to add species diversity to forested parts of the preserve that developed on abandoned agricultural land, whose overstory is not very diverse. 🌿 🌰

I do not know what this caterpillar is, but it is quite abundant at Hummelwald Forest this year. 🌿 #insects #plant-insect #ElkeDagEenInsect

A newly-sprouted puffball (Lycoperdon sp. ?) forest. A lot of rain has recently fallen at Hummelwald Forest, and the 'shrooms are popping. 🍄 #FungiFriends  #Mushrooms #fungi 🌿

I originally identified this twiggy creature as a stick insect (Phasmatodea). I have since learned that I was substantially in error and that this is actually a thread-legged assassin bug (Emesaya brevipennis). Thank you @cinnabarneon.bsky.social for the correction. 🌿 #insects #ElkeDagEenInsect

Tick-trefoil (Desmodium panniculatum) 🌿

Gray tree frogs (Hyla versicolor) continue to show a fondness for my vehicle. This one sat meditating at length on one of the rear view mirrors (covered with cloth as a precaution against falling ripe cherries) and might still be there had I not (gently) moved it. 🌿 #frog

Nut season has arrived at Hummelwald Forest. Pictured here are the fruits of northern red oak (Quercus rubra) and bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis).

Marsh music, featuring green frogs (Lithobates clamitans) on lead vocals. Also audible are mixed Orthoptera and American goldfinch (Spinus tristis). 🌿

It was another foggy week at Hummelwald Forest. Here are some views of the Hummelwald hayfield. #Landscape #landscapePhotography

I do not know what this is. It is one of the largest caterpillars (Lepidoptera) that I have ever seen. It was observed happily feeding on the leaves of Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus inserta). 🌿

Dodder (Cuscuta gronovii) No, that is not orange spaghetti; that is a flowering plant. 🌿

Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba) 🌿

Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia) 🌿

Late summer is here, and the Orthoptera are singing. Here is a nighttime soundscape recorded in the midst of Hummelwald Forest. The dominant singers are tree crickets (Oecanthinae). A few katydids (Pterophylla camelifolia) are also audible.

Mice try to invade my vehicle when I camp at Hummelwald Forest.  I deploy aluminum box traps adjacent to the wheels in hope of intercepting them before they can climb the tires.  I apprehended a mouse last week.  It was released unharmed after being detained in the trap for a few hours. 🌿

A panoramic sweep from the southern margin of the Hummelwald hay field. The dominant bird call is that of the blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata). A red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) can be heard near the end.

It is late summer, and the Orthoptera are singing. Can anyone identify this one to species? #insects #plant-insect #ElkeDagEenInsect

This dragonfly (Anisoptera) patiently sat for its portrait. The light background really highlights the wing veination. Can anyone identify this one to species? #insects #plant-insect #ElkeDagEenInsect

The skyscape above the Hummelwald Forest camp site. #clouds #cloudscape #cloudphotography #cloudappreciation

Here are a couple of morning images of the Hummelwald hay field from last week. It was a very humid week. #Landscape

Morning at Hummelwald Forest #Landscape